Back to map to Map                    Back to Palisades                        Back to Mountaineer
North Palisade
14,242' (4340m) 4th highest in California  1994
Mt Alice, Temple Crags, Mt Gayley, Mt Sill, North Palisade (North Palisade is distant right of center with rectangular snowfield)
Mt Sill left, North Palisade right                 U Notch to the left of North Palisade is the route	North Palisade from the summit of Mt Sill
	North Palisade was accomplished on the first attempt Memorial Day Weekend of 1994. Randy, Mike and I hiked up the North Fork of Big Pine Creek from the Glacier Lodge area. We crossed the creek between first and second lakes and put a high camp out on a rocky spit intruding into the glacier. In the morning we climbed up the U-Notch after easily crossing the mostly hidden Bergschrund. Near the top of the notch we did a couple of protected pitches north with Mike leading. We popped out above the rectangular snowfield on the east side. I remember as we transversed the snowfield that if it avalanched there would be no way we could arrest before we went off the several thousand foot cliff beneath it. After crossing the snowfield there was a final summit block. At one point Randy and Mike crossed an extremely exposed face near the summit. I chose to climb around and avoid the exposure. On the way up from the U-Notch to the snowfield we put in a camming device anchor we couldn't free. We failed to free it on the way down and left it there.
Back to map to Map